Grandbaby Cakes BLAD

GR ANDBABY

Modern Recipes

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Vintage Charm

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Soulful Memories

Jo c e l y n D e l k Ad a m s f o r e w o r d b y Ca r l a Ha l l

Contents Foreword 1

Introduction 3

How To Use This Book 7

Pound Cakes

Layer Cakes

Sheet Cakes

page 23

page 59

page 87

Baby Cakes

Celebration Cakes

Seasons and Holidays

page 145

page 173

page 105

Index 202

Acknowledgments 206

About The Author 208

Grandbaby’s

Strawberry–Rhubarb Shortcake SERVES 12–16

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once made this cream cheese pound cake recipe more than 100 times in a single year. This famous pound cake was lauded all over Chicago (not entirely exaggerating). It all started when I brought one to EBONY magazine when I worked there many moons ago. Everyone loved it and started placing orders for birthdays and work anniversaries. Soon word spread across the city (still not exaggerating), and all of a sudden I was making several a week in my tiny Chicago apartment kitchen. My brother André and cousin Roslynn have fondly dubbed it “THE Cake,” and it seems to be the only one that matters now. Whenever I have served it—whether it’s to men or women, young or old—it always elicits the same response of closed eyes and delightful moans of glee.

The texture of this cake is unlike any other pound cake I have ever tried. It is creamy, dense, and, ironically, light as a feather. You could make this cake and not do another doggone thing to it, but I dare you to try it as the base for classic shortcake with fresh whipped cream and strawberry–rhubarb compote, and have your life change forever.

Grandbaby Note: Rhubarb has a very short seasonal window, in the summer. If it isn’t available, try using just strawberries or a mix of raspberries and strawberries. The taste is still fantastic.

INGREDIENTS CAKE

11/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature 23/4 cups granulated sugar 6 large eggs, room temperature 3 cups sifted cake flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

STRAWBERRY–RHUBARB COMPOTE

2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

1 cup diced fresh rhubarb (cut into 1/4-inch pieces)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons water Pinch salt

1/4 teaspoon cornstarch WHIPPED CREAM

2 cups heavy cream, cold 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

pound cakes 37

Blueberry Pan-cakelettes with Maple-Cinnamon Glaze MAKES 10–12

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love the morning, when that first moment of consciousness provides a sense of complete calm and peace. I savor this fleeting moment, which is quickly replaced by the busyness of the day.

Mornings at Big Mama and Big Daddy’s always began early. The perfume of roasted coffee, homemade biscuits, bacon, eggs, grits, and rice swelled the house as early as six a.m. That was our standard breakfast down South, and while I loved it, as time went on, I was introduced to pancakes, and they changed my life. I’m glad the South loves a good ol’-fashioned hoecake, hot cake, and johnnycake, because I have had some of the best ones below the Mason-Dixon Line. A stack of humble buttermilk flapjacks, with a scoop of churned butter melting down the sides, drizzled in pure maple syrup, is the dish I would probably select as my last meal.

Each bite of one of these buttermilk pan-cakelettes, with its hints of cinnamon, maple, and juicy blueberries, is sure to fill your heart with those sweet notes of breakfast with family.

INGREDIENTS PAN-CAKELETTES

3/4 cup (11/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 11/4 cups granulated sugar 3 large eggs, room temperature 11/2 cups sifted cake flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature 2 tablespoons maple syrup 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

111 grandbaby cakes

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 11/4 cups fresh blueberries, tossed in 1/4 teaspoon all-purpose flour MAPLE–CINNAMON GLAZE

1 cup confectioners’ sugar 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 tablespoons maple syrup 1 tablespoon melted butter 1–2 tablespoons whole milk, room temperature

Blood-Orange Mimosa Cake SERVES 12–16

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ncle Sonny, Big Mama’s firstborn and my mom’s older brother, was the life of the party, and the truth is, he didn’t have to try hard.

He just knew how to have a good time. His electric energy, sense of humor, smooth walk, and fly metallic suits were quite the sight to behold, and to talk to him was to have an “experience.” Visits to Uncle Sonny, who lived in Flint, Michigan, were so exciting, and we always had a good time.

This cake immediately calls Uncle Sonny to mind. He truly loved his bubbly, but that’s not why this cake is appropriate. With its hints of crisp, pink champagne and distinctive blood-orange juice, this is a statement celebration cake, which makes it perfect for any New Year’s Eve party.

Blood oranges are available only during a small window of time, making them really special. In fact, you learn to appreciate them all the more because of this. When Uncle Sonny passed away a few years ago, I realized how one of a kind he truly was.

Grandbaby Note: You can use any orange you want in this recipe if blood oranges are not in season. The cake is quite versatile.

INGREDIENTS CAKE

11/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 23/4 cups granulated sugar 5 large eggs, room temperature 3 cups sifted cake flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup pink Moscato or Champagne 3 tablespoons orange zest 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

SIMPLE SYRUP

1/2 cup pink Moscato or Champagne 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup fresh blood-orange juice

11/2 cups confectioners’ sugar 3 tablespoons fresh blood-orange juice

ORANGE GLAZE

seasons and holidays 175

Arnold Palmer Cake SERVES 18–22

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hen I think of a calm and relaxing day, I immediately imagine sitting in a rocking chair in the South, sipping sweet tea. This daydream is a far cry from the reality of my daily life in the temperamental weather of the Windy City. Sweet tea has always been the drink of the South, recognizable by its amber-toned brew and deep flavor balanced by the hints of lemon and sweetness that only heaps of sugar can provide. I know whenever I visit my Big Mama we are sure to have a pitcher of it on the dinner table.

While Big Mama is mostly a sweet-tea woman, I was also a fan of homemade lemonade when I was growing up. That is one reason why good ol’-fashioned Arnold Palmers (half iced tea and half lemonade) were like an angel from God when I first discovered them. This recipe is an ode to the drink that solved my what do I fill my mason jar with? conundrum, perfectly melding both flavors in the most delightful cake. The lemon cake might make you pucker, and its topping of smooth sweet-tea buttercream, steeped with Lipton or Luzianne tea, is sure to make you wonder how you can drink it. When I took my first bite, I felt like I was back in Mississippi on my Big Mama’s porch instead of in the harsh weather realities of Chicago.

Grandbaby Note: Lemon oil is a great time-saving product because you don’t have to grate a

bunch of zest, which is needed to make this cake really citrusy. However, if you don’t have access to the oil, you can still make this cake by substituting the lemon oil with six tablespoons of lemon zest, which takes about four to six lemons, depending on their size.

INGREDIENTS LEMONADE CAKE

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 21/2 cups granulated sugar 4 large eggs, room temperature 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour 21/2 teaspoons baking powder 11/2 teaspoons salt 2/3 cup sour cream, room temperature 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 11/2 teaspoons lemon oil or 6 tablespoons lemon zest 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

189 grandbaby cakes

SWEET-TEA BUTTERCREAM

4 bags black Lipton or Luzianne tea 1/2 cup boiling water 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

6 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon lemon extract Lemon slices and mint leaves, for garnish

GRANDBABY CAKES

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Recipes

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Vi n t a g e C h a r m

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Soulf ul Me mor ie

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Jocelyn Delk Adams foreword by Carla Hall, Co-Host of ABC's The Chew

Grandbaby Cakes is the debut cookbook from award-winning food blogger Jocelyn Delk Adams, a fresh new voice in home baking. This book collects 50 vintage cake recipes, many featuring contemporary twists, along with the author’s gorgeous photography, old family snapshots, and heartwarming memories of her family’s generations-old love of baking.

As a child, Adams and her family would routinely embark on the ten-hour journey from their home in Chicago to Winona, Mississippi, where she would watch her grandmother—affectionately called “Big Mama”—invent delicious, melt-in-your-mouth desserts. Over the years, Big Mama’s recipes became the fabric of their family heritage. Much like Adams’s nationally recognized blog of the same name, Grandbaby Cakes was written to honor her grandmother’s baked innovations, showcase her own pastry work in an accessible way, and thank those who came before by passing on these edible family traditions.

This cookbook will inspire readers with its bold, eclectic recipes. Adams creates sophisticated combinations based on Big Mama’s gorgeous centerpiece cakes, giving each recipe something familiar mixed with something new. Grandbaby Cakes is for any baker, traditional or experimental, who wants recipes full of heart and soul—and a book worthy of passing from generation to generation.

Jocelyn Delk Adams is the founder of Grandbaby Cakes, a food blog inspired by her grandmother and devoted to classic desserts and modern trends in pastry. Grandbaby Cakes has been featured by Better Homes & Gardens, Ebony, the New York Times, People, Food52, The Kitchn, the Chicago Sun-Times, and more. Adams is also the founder of A Charitable Confection, an annual anti-violence fundraiser featuring the top bakeries in Chicago.

September 15, 2015 • $22.95 • 7.5 × 10 • 208 pages

For more information call Agate Surrey at 847.475.4457 or inquire via agatepublishing.com. Please supply two tear sheets of any published review.

ISBN: 978-1-57284-173-4

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COOKING / COURSES & DISHES / DESSERTS